


sunburst

by livinginthepantry



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Post-Star Wars Prequel Trilogy & Pre-Star Wars: Original Trilogy, Post-Star Wars: The Clone Wars & Pre-Star Wars: Rebels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:27:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29040855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livinginthepantry/pseuds/livinginthepantry
Summary: An AU in which Rex finds a familiar pattern on a crate while on a mission with The Ghost Crew...(I’m a bit stupid and lost the URL, but this is inspired by a post on Tumblr(blame my horrendous screen-shotting abilities)(also i haven’t watched Rebels, so, uhh.. my knowledge of the characters is tumblr informed and tumblr informed only)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	sunburst

“How’s it all going on your side, old man?” Sabine’s voice pipes up humourously from the commlink, “My count’s seventeen. Zeb’s on fifteen.”

“Hah,” Rex acknowledges, leaning around a crate. Two shots later, the immediate danger to his life is subsided. He straightens up, rolling his shoulder stiffly, “Can’t believe I’m falling behind! I’m on eleven.”

“You are all unbelievable,” Hera’s voice joins the conversation. Rex can practically hear the amused eyeroll in her tone, “Is the platform clear for landing?”

“Yes, sir,” Rex nods. Hera hums a thank you, and her line goes quiet. Sabine and Zeb are still laughing on their end. Kanan and Ezra haven’t chipped into the conversation at all, but Rex has no doubt that they’re alright.  
Stuffing his blaster back into the holster hanging from his belt, Rex surveys the landing bay- now cleared of enemy forces. It’s decidedly a mess. Rings of soot pepper the walls, floor and crates. Crates spill over the platform haphazardly. Rex heaves a sigh. 

_May as well clear more space before Hera and Chopper arrive._

He’s halfway through re-stacking a pile of battered crates, when something catches his eye. It’s a colour. A bright colour peaking out from underneath an overturned crate, altogether not fitting into the dulled and scuffed pallet of the rest of the bay. A familiar colour. 

Almost without thinking, Rex crouches down and retrieves the crate, turning it over in his hands.

“What the hell...” He mutters. An all-too-familiar sunburst pattern is painted across the side of the crate. He’s too busy staring dumbfounded at the golden paint, he barely even hears the rumbling of engines and the hissing of landing gear. He’s still standing stock-still when Hera approaches.

“What is it?” The Twi’Lek comes to a stop in front of Rex, peering over at the crate. 

“It’s...” Rex starts, then stops. He doesn’t know what to say. _Oh, I don’t know, it’s the symbol that my brother- my best friend- had painted on his armour before Palpatine stripped him of all personality and agency_. Instead, he settles on, “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s part of the production process of crate-making.”

Hera leans forward, frowning. Then, to Rex’s surprise, she grins.

“Ah, you found it!” She says, “Can I?”

“Found... What?” Rex echoes, handing the crate to the Twi’Lek pilot, “What are you talking about?”

“It’s a message from one of our informants,” Hera replies, making quick work of getting the crate open and rummaging around inside, “It should be... Yes. Here.”

She sets the crate down and withdraws a single Datapad. Rex’s gaze tracks the painted symbol as the crate topples over again. He tells himself it’s just a coincidence, that even the possibility that Cody is alive and working against the Empire is near impossible. Rex has seen the reports; he used to monitor Empire chatter before it became too painful to bear.

“All we need to do is hook the Datapad up and decode the message-- Rex?” Hera breaks off, frowning in concern, “Are you alright?”

“Sorry, sir, yes,” Rex gives himself a mental shake, “Just tired. I suggest we vacate the landing bay, if there’s nothing else we need to investigate. I don’t think our presence here is going to go unnoticed for much longer.”

Hera studies his expression for a moment longer, and Rex has the uncanny feeling that she does not believe for a single second that he’s alright. To her credit, she doesn’t push it, and instead nods towards the lowered boarding ramp of _The Ghost_ , where Chopper is waiting. 

“Sorry, Chop’,” Rex says as he passes the droid, “I didn’t leave any fighting for you.”

The astromech beeps grumpily and rolls back into the ship. Rex makes his way to the cockpit, where Hera is already firing up the engines with ease. 

“Time to pick up Kanan and the kids,” she remarks. Rex snorts, shaking his head as he retreats towards the cargo bay. Still, as _The Ghost_ rises into the air with a comforting thrum of engines, he can’t help his thoughts from straying back to the sunburst symbol upon the crate, and the tiny voice within whispers ‘what if?’.

~

~

It’s been a long day, and Rex is tired. He barely managed to get in an hour’s sleep the previous night. It had not helped that _The Ghost_ had been ambushed by a squad of TIE fighters in the middle of the ‘night’. It also had not helped that Ezra and Zeb had gotten into an overly loud squabble over late-night snack runs. 

Rex had felt no inclination to get up and tell them to cut it out, at the time. It was a way of keeping up morale between the crew. 

He stifles a yawn. The crew is currently milling about the cargo bay, awaiting set-down. Hera explained that they would be meeting with one of her many contacts. She and Kanan are both up in the cockpit. Rex shifts his helmet under his arm. 

Across the room, Sabine and Ezra are roaring with laughter over some joke or another, while Zeb is trying to negotiate peace with an agitated Chopper. There’s a slight jolt as _The Ghost_ touches down, and Rex pulls Zeb upright before he can fall face-first into Chopper’s taser-hand. 

“Thanks,” the Lasat mutters gruffly, giving Chopper an annoyed look.

“Better for a good first impression if you don’t look like you’ve been sticking your fingers in electrical outlets,” Res replies, eyebrow raised. It’s something he has said before, back in different times about a certain other murderous astromech. Many times to General Skywalker, and, on one occasion, to Ahsoka.

“He always looks like he’s been sticking his fingers in electric sockets,” Ezra snorts. Sabine cracks up again, and Ezra has to flee over a pile of boxes to escape Zeb. 

As Hera and Kanan descend the ladder, Rex slips his helmet on, nodding respectfully to the pair.

“Kids, calm down,” Hera comments airily. Behind her back, Kanan gestures for Ezra to get down off a stack of barrels. 

“So, who are we meeting this time?” Ezra asks as he slides down the side of a barrel, “I’ve got my fingers crossed for another Jedi.”

“Try not to drool all over whoever it is, anyway,” Sabine grins. Ezra sticks his tongue out at her in response. 

“Any do’s or don’t’s?” Rex asks. Ezra’s question was one on everyone’s minds, but Rex knew that Hera was unlikely to answer something direct as that about an informant. The best he figured they could do was ask subtle questions and put together context clues.

Hera seems to consider the question, before looking over at the others, “Keep your mind open.”

Rex turns to face the boarding ramp as Kanan elbows the button to release it. He has the feeling that Hera’s suggestion was directed more at the rest of the crew. Perhaps that means they are meeting with an Empire-based informant. 

He waits for the crew to disembark before him. Hera and Kanan in front, Sabine after them, Zeb and Ezra accompanying Chopper after her. Rex keeps one hand on the hilt of his holstered blaster. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Survival hinges on taking every precaution.

It’s well-lit outside. Hera must have landed _The Ghost_ on a wide outcrop of rock. Rex takes a moment to sweep their surroundings with his eyes. It isn’t the most secure of places to walk out into the open to. Granted, there’s nothing blocking their path back to _The Ghost_ , if they needed a quick escape. Yet Rex can’t just shake the anxiety rising inside as he surveys the unending ring of trees lining the clearing. Too many angles for an ambush. Too exposed.

__

He shoots a glance at Kanan’s advancing back. If there was any life-threatening danger hiding behind every trunk, the former Jedi would surely be reacting in a way that was not making a bad pun to Sabine. Still gripping his blaster, Rex starts forward again. 

“Where’s the contact?” Zeb asks, doing a full 360° turn. 

Hera shoots him a patronising look, “Jumping into a Sarlacc Pit on Tatooine.”

“Very funny.”

Rex glances at Kanan, “Maybe you should give him a Jedi lesson in patience, sir.”

“If only he would listen,” the former Jedi replies with a tired grin, “I can’t even get my own Padawan to listen to the Patience lecture.”

“I feel your pain, sir.”

“Who needs patience when we have Chopper?” Sabine asks serenely as she pats the droid’s head. Chopper lets out a series of proud beeps. In a lot of ways, he reminds Rex of R2, wherever R2 happened to be in the galaxy now.  
At that moment, something flashes through the trees directly ahead of the crew. An animal? No. Animals didn’t move that way.

“Is that your contact?” Kanan murmurs to Hera, barely loud enough for Rex to catch. 

“Most likely. It’s exactly 14:00, right on time,” the Twi’Lek replies quietly. Rex notes with satisfaction that Sabine and Zeb are both toying with their blasters. Even if whoever is now approaching has nefarious plans, it would be quite the struggle to subdue the entire Ghost crew.

A figure emerges from the trees, pausing to survey the Ghost crew before continuing closer. Kanan makes a surprised noise, Sabine cocks her head curiously, Ezra shoots a glance at Rex, both eyebrows raised. Rex shifts to the side to get a clearer view around Zeb’s bulky frame. And the world stops. Hera says something, but all Rex can hear is the deafening roar of blood in his ears. 

The newcomer starts to reply to whatever Hera had asked, but also freezes. Rex feels himself moving without thinking, brushing past the Ghost crew, closing the space. After _years_ of not knowing, _years_ of running and hiding, _years_ of regret. He hadn’t let himself get too hopeful. And now here he was, crashing into his brother’s arms.

“Kriffing hell, I thought you were dead,” Cody mutters.

“The universe wanted that, but I said No,” Rex chokes back, “Force, had I known you were running around working against the Empire, I would have contacted you! All this time I thought you were under Palpatine’s control. You asshole.”

“You owe me so many credits for 79′s.”

“Oh, kriff off!”


End file.
